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The Referee Blew The Whistle For Half-Time At 44:59 As Atalanta Were Through On Goal Against Real Madrid

The Referee Blew The Whistle For Half-Time At 44:59 As Atalanta Were Through On Goal Against Real Madrid

Atalanta had a wonderful opportunity to score but the referee blew for half-time.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Atalanta were left fuming after the referee blew the whistle for the half-time while they were on the attack against Real Madrid.

The Serie A side had striker Luis Muriel running in behind the Los Blancos backline from a wonderfully weighted pass from midfield.

With a 2v1 situation on the cards, it looked to be a great opportunity to level matters on the night and notch a vital away goal in the Champions League round of 16 tie.

But much to their frustration, the referee Danny Makkelie blew the whistle prematurely at 44:59 and denied them the chance to equalise.

Fans on social media felt the decision to call for the break was one of the worst in the history of football.

Real, who won the first leg 1-0, went ahead tonight through Karim Benzema's first half strike before captain Sergio Ramos added a second from the spot in the second half.

Muriel pulled one back with a glorious free-kick seven minutes from time to make the scoreline 3-1 on aggregate, only for Marco Asensio to wrap up the tie a minute later for the 13-time European champions.

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Topics: Football, Atalanta, Champions League, Real Madrid